Abstract
Prioritizing and making efficient conservation plans for threatened populations requires information at both evolutionary and ecological timescales. Nevertheless, few studies integrate multidisciplinary approaches, mainly because of the difficulty for conservationists to assess simultaneously the evolutionary and ecological status of populations. Here, we sought to demonstrate how combining genetic and demographic analyses allows prioritizing and initiating conservation plans. To do so, we combined snapshot microsatellite data and a 30-year-long demographic survey on a threatened freshwater fish species (Parachondrostoma toxostoma) at the river basin scale. Our results revealed low levels of genetic diversity and weak effective population sizes (<63 individuals) in all populations. We further detected severe bottlenecks dating back to the last centuries (200–800 years ago), which may explain the differentiation of certain populations. The demographic survey revealed a general decrease in the spatial distribution and abundance of P. toxostoma over the last three decades. We conclude that demo-genetic approaches are essential for (1) identifying populations for which both evolutionary and ecological extinction risks are high; and (2) proposing conservation plans targeted toward these at risk populations, and accounting for the evolutionary history of populations. We suggest that demo-genetic approaches should be the norm in conservation practices.We combined genetic and demographic data from a threatened freshwater fish species (Parachondrostoma toxostoma) at the river basin scale for conservation purposes. Genetic diversity and effective population sizes are very low, probably due to the strong genetic bottlenecks detected in this study. The species spatial distribution and abundance also decreased during the last decades.
Highlights
Prioritizing and making appropriate plans to manage and conserve threatened species is a complex task
We focused on an endangered freshwater fish species which is considered vulnerable throughout its restricted native range (i.e., Southern France, Crivelli 2006)
It is noteworthy that the Save River (SAV) displayed the lowest genetic diversity estimates (Fig. 2A and B, Table S3)
Summary
Prioritizing and making appropriate plans to manage and conserve threatened species is a complex task. Global changes simultaneously affect multiple facets of individual species, making predictions difficult (Margules and Pressey 2000; McMahon et al 2011). Global changes such as habitat fragmentation or climate change can affect the genetic diversity (Olivieri et al 2008; Blanchet et al 2010), the demographic dynamics (Julliard et al 2004; Dunham et al 2008), the evolution of life-history traits (Conover et al 2009; Blanchet and Dubut 2012), and/or the spatial distribution of species (Parmesan 2006; Buisson et al 2008). The conservation biologists’ toolbox includes several methods which emerged from multiple disciplines such as population genetics, population ecology, and biostatistics
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